Watchcase-hinge.



L. S. HANSON. WATGHGASE HINGE. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 9, 1906.

918,043, Patented Apr. 13, 19091 u, n. c. 7H: NORRIS PETERS co., WASHINGTO UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS S. HANSON, OF OHIPPEWA FALLS, WISCONSIN.

WAT CHO ASE -HIN GE Application filed. July 9, 1908.

To all whom i may concern:

Be it known that 1, Lotus S. Hanson, a citizen ot the United States, residing at Chippewa Falls, in the county 0t Chippewa and State o'l Vfisconsin, have invented cer tain new and useful improvements in atchcase-l-linges; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact de scription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an imaroved watch case hinge and is especially directed to the improvement of the spring mechanism for forcing open the front lid when released by its latch, and to the above ends the invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described and delined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illu. trate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a bottom view of the case, some parts ljleing broken away and some parts being shown in section. Fig. is a vertical section taken radially on the line a? ."r of Fig. 1, some parts being broken away. Fig. 23 is a vertical section taken radially on the line 51; of Fig. 1, some parts being broken away, showing the lid opened up. Fig. i is a l101'l- Zontal section taken on the line .r t of Fig. 2. some parts being broken away. Fig. 5 is a bottom view of the case-center, some parts being broken away. Fig. (5 is a bottom view of the top lid of the case, some parts being broken away. Fig. T is a view corresponding to Fig. 2, but illustrating a slightly modified construction; and Fig. 8 is a view corresponding to F but showing the construction illustrated in 7.

(if the principal arts of the case, the numeral 1 indicates the case-center, the nu meral 2 the customary bottom lid. and the numeral 3 the top lid, the hinge lug 5 oi which latter is connected to thin laterally spaced internal flanges 10 of the said casecenter. The hinge lug 5 has a radially projecting lug 6, that is notched in one side. to-wit. in that side that is adjacent to the wall of the case-center, so as to receive the free end of the reduced spring portion of a segmental spring 7, which spring closely follows the wall of the case-center 1, and is,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 18, 1909.

Serial No. Z/YZA.

as shown, provided with a multiplicity of transverse corrugations 8 on its wide body portion, and is anchored to the said casecenter by a pin or screw 9. The said corrugations 8, it will be noted by reference to Fig. 1, are formed by pressing one edge oi? the body portion of the spring 7 laterally so that the pin or screw 9 may be passed therethrough and into a suitable seat termed in one of the inwardly extended annular lianges of the case-center 1. The tension of the spring 7 is, of course, such that it will force the upper cover 3 open when the latter is released from its spring latch (not shown, but which may be 01 the usual or any suitable construct-ion.) With this arrangement of the spring 7 and lug t5 the free end of the spring may be applied to or disconnected from the notched lug 6 without removing trom the watch case either the spring or the hinged cover; or the said hinged cover may be removed from the watch case without removing the said spring from the case-center.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to (5 inclusive, the laterally spaced ears or piping 10 to which the lids 2 and 3 are hinged, are shown as connected by an integrally formed segmental web 11 that is notched at 11 to aii'ord clearance for the lug 6, so as to thereby permit the engage.- ment of the spring 7 with said lug 6 and to permit such movements of said lug 6 as is required when the lid 3 is moved from its closed into its open position, or vice versa. By reference to F i3. 3 it will be noted that when the cover is thrown into its open position the lug (3 strikes the upper annular flange of the case-center 1 and thereby atiords a stop tor determining the extreme open position of said cover.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 7 and 8 is like that described above, except that the segmental web 11 is dispensed with. 'lne only purpose of the said web 11 is to cover or inclose the hinge joint of the interior of the case, but considerable work and expense is done away with by the eliminm tion thereof. in both constructions the casecenter 1 is cut away at 11 to afford a seat for the hinge lug between the ears or piping 10. in the best arrangement the notched lug 6 is located at one extremity of the hinge lug 5, but it might be intermediately located in some instances. The above described construction gives an extremely eflicient spring and hinge joint which may be made at small cost and which as above stated, may be very easily put together and taken apart.

What 1 claim is:

l. The combination with a watch case comprising a case-center having laterally spaced ears and an opening between said ears, of a lid having a hinge lug located between and pivotally connected to said ears, said hinge lug having a radially projecting lug notched at one side and located at one end of said hinge lug adjacent to one of said ears, the side of said lug which is opposite to the notch thereof being arranged to directly engage one of the flanges of the case center to positively limit the opening movement of the lid, and a segmental spring anchored at one end to said case center and having a reduced end engaged with the notched side of said notched lug and exerting an upward force thereof tending to move said hinged lid into an open position, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a watch case comprising a case-center having laterally spaced ears and a segmental web connecting the same, said web having a notch at one end, of a lid having a hinged lug located between and pivotally connected to said ears and provided at one end with a radially projecting lug notched at one side and pro jecting through the notch of said segmental web, the side of said lug which is opposite to its notch being arranged for direct engagement with one of the flanges of said case-center to limit the opening movement of the lid and a segmental spring anchored at one end to said casecenter and having a reduced free end engaged with the notched side of said notched lug and exerting an upward force tending to more said lid into an open position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LO 1S SEAN-30X. lVitnesses OSCAR VAN VALKENBURG, KATIE liAYES. 

